printing – Koraks tinkers

Brownies get the blues – Combining Van Dyke brown and cyanotype

This sort of emerged as I was playing with, and I’m actually quite happy with what I ended up with – unintentionally. It’s a combination of Van Dyke brown prints and cyanotypes that allows for the image tone to be set at virtually any point on the ocher-cyan axis. It’s also quite easy, reasonably quick, affordable and can be done with a high degree of consistency.

Silicon or gelatin – Look at the pictures

When it comes to my prints, I’m never really happy. There’s friction, always. As a result, I’m always searching, and this search takes me all over the place. In this case, I find myself on that decades-old divide of film or digital. No ‘versus’ debate for me – I hope we’re all past that point. But the question is still with me: how do the different processes translate into the final print?

On a Color Mission – Comparing two RA4 color papers

With FUJIFILM being the only remaining manufacturer of RA4 color printing paper in the West, one of the questions remains how their products compare. Let’s have a look at an entry-level product in their portfolio pitched against a one of their top-level products and see what real-world differences there are.

Feet of clay – My first impression of Harman Phoenix

The recent introduction of a color negative C41 film by Harman Technology (of Ilford fame) was both unusual and gutsy. Entering the market with a color product with a strong reputation specifically in black & white is a surprising move to begin with. Doing so in a way that resembles a 2020s startup more so than a firm rooted in the early 1900s is even more surprising. But what gives? Let’s look at some pictures! In particular, some optical RA4 enlargements.

Ogling curves – Comparing salted paper, Van Dyke and DAS carbon

Earlier today I posted a blog with analysis of curves and especially hues of salted paper prints. I mentioned a comparison of curve shapes with some other processes as well, and since that’s fairly easy to do, I thought I could follow up on it right away. In this brief blog, let’s have a look at the H/D curves of salted paper, Van Dyke and DAS carbon.

Shades of grey – A look at the tones of a salted paper print

Last night I felt like doing a salt print. Why not do some measurements on it? Just having fun with the photospectrometer, really! And sometimes, just playing can give some insights. Perhaps a surprise, here and there?

Big ugly no longer big (still ugly) – RGB LED head for color printing revision

As soon as something sort of works, I generally leave it as is and use it as is. Until the shortcomings become annoying enough to actually do something about it. Which is the story of my color enlarger project in a nutshell. A story that hadn’t see much development lately – after all, it sort of worked, right? Well, the annoyance got the better of me, so I did another iteration.

Crossroads – A closer look at Kodak and Fuji digital RA4 crossover

Earlier, I wrote about digital RA4 papers suffering from crossover. I feel it’s time to revisit this topic, because I stumbled across some illustrations that make the issue more tangible. Let’s have a look at some theory and split some hairs!

Color potential – Remaining dyes in processed RA4 paper

As I was setting up for a color printing session, I did a quick experiment to prove something to myself that I already knew. It’s just that I had never before empirically witnessed it. It’s about the dye couplers that remain in the emulsion of chromogenic color materials, such as RA4 paper. Yes, they just stay there, even if they’re not part of the image. Pretty neat – or disconcerting?

Ready, set, go – Stuff you need to get started with carbon transfer

This post is in answer to a question from Esmee (check out her work via https://www.eamy.nl/). Since others might somehow benefit from it as well, I might as well just put it up for everyone to see. So here’s a little shopping list of what’s needed to get started with carbon transfer using DAS sensitizer.